Principles of Environmental Justice

Delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership
Summit held on October 24-27, 1991, in Washington DC, drafted and adopted
17 principles of Environmental Justice. Since then, The Principles
have served as a defining document for the growing grassroots
movement for environmental justice.

PREAMBLE

WE, THE PEOPLE OF COLOR, gathered together at this multinational People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, to begin to build a national and international movement of all peoples of color to fight the destruction and taking of our lands and communities, do hereby re-establish our spiritual interdependence to the sacredness of our Mother Earth; to respect and celebrate each of our cultures, languages and beliefs about the natural world and our roles in healing ourselves; to ensure environmental justice; to promote economic alternatives which would contribute to the development of environmentally safe livelihoods; and, to secure our political, economic and cultural liberation that has been denied for over 500 years of colonization and oppression, resulting in the poisoning of our communities and land and the genocide of our peoples, do affirm and adopt these Principles of Environmental Justice:

1) Environmental Justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth,
ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the
right to be free from ecological destruction.

2) Environmental Justice demands that public policy be based on
mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination or bias.

3) Environmental Justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things.

4) Environmental Justice calls for universal protection from
nuclear testing, extraction, production and disposal of
toxic/hazardous wastes and poisons and nuclear testing that
threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water, and
food.

5) Environmental Justice affirms the fundamental right to
political, economic, cultural and environmental
self-determination of all peoples.

6) Environmental Justice demands the cessation of the production
of all toxins, hazardous wastes, and radioactive materials, and
that all past and current producers be held strictly accountable
to the people for detoxification and the containment at the point
of production.

7) Environmental Justice demands the right to participate as
equal partners at every level of decision-making, including needs
assessment, planning, implementation, enforcement and evaluation.

8) Environmental Justice affirms the right of all workers to a
safe and healthy work environment without being forced to choose
between an unsafe livelihood and unemployment. It also affirms
the right of those who work at home to be free from environmental
hazards.

9) Environmental Justice protects the right of victims of
environmental injustice to receive full compensation and
reparations for damages as well as quality health care.

10) Environmental Justice considers governmental acts of
environmental injustice a violation of international law, the
Universal Declaration On Human Rights, and the United Nations
Convention on Genocide.

11) Environmental Justice must recognize a special legal and
natural relationship of Native Peoples to the U.S. government
through treaties, agreements, compacts, and covenants affirming
sovereignty and self-determination.

12) Environmental Justice affirms the need for urban and rural
ecological policies to clean up and rebuild our cities and rural
areas in balance with nature, honoring the cultural integrity of
all our communities, and provided fair access for all to the full
range of resources.

13) Environmental Justice calls for the strict enforcement of
principles of informed consent, and a halt to the testing of
experimental reproductive and medical procedures and vaccinations
on people of color.

15) Environmental Justice opposes military occupation, repression
and exploitation of lands, peoples and cultures, and other life
forms.

16) Environmental Justice calls for the education of present and
future generations which emphasizes social and environmental
issues, based on our experience and an appreciation of our
diverse cultural perspectives.

17) Environmental Justice requires that we, as individuals, make
personal and consumer choices to consume as little of Mother
Earth's resources and to produce as little waste as possible; and
make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our
lifestyles to ensure the health of the natural world for present
and future generations.

The Proceedings to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit are available from the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice, 475 Riverside Dr. Suite 1950, New York, NY 10115.